Dechert has hired a funds specialist from White & Case as its new Dubai managing partner.
Phillip Sacks has rejoined the firm after two and a half years as a partner at White & Case, where he led the Middle East funds practice. Before that he spent seven years as a partner at Dechert, and four as a partner at King & Spalding.
Recognised as a top funds lawyer in the region, Sacks advises financial institutions, fund managers and sovereign wealth funds on the structuring, establishment and liquidation of onshore and offshore conventional and Shari’ah-compliant investment funds.
At White & Case his work included advising ADIB Capital and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on the establishment of a Sukuk fund in the DIFC and Alkhabeer Capital on the establishment of a Sharia-compliant private equity fund of funds.
Dechert co-chair Mark Thierfelder said Sacks’ experience would “significantly” enhance the firm’s client offering as it moved to grow its capabilities in the region.
“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Phillip back to Dechert,” he added.
At Dechert Sacks will lead a Dubai team of three partners, all of whom are part of the firm’s financial services and investment management practice, which globally houses more than 200 lawyers.
He has rejoined Dechert at an expansive time for the firm, which earlier this year hired more than 20 partners from McDermott Will & Schulte in a move that also saw the firm open offices in Chicago and Dallas.
The firm has also been adding senior talent in London recently, including private equity and infrastructure lawyer Jarlath Pratt from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC in January and a pair of partners from Orrick last year to boost its structured credit and CLO offering.
Law firms are continuining to announce hires in the Middle East in spite of the ongoing crisis in the region. Earlier this week Gibson Dunn & Crutcher said it had recruited Linklaters’ Saudi Arabia managing partner, Waleed Rasrommani, a noted deal star in the market.
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